The Lookout Bar & Grill

St Patricks day happy hour was great. Super corned beef and $ 4 pints of Guiness. To top it off our server, Alex, was wonderful, and a great representative of the business. If I owned a pub I’d hire her away, plus she took care of our dog with water and snacks.

Great local Dive Bar with karaōke and great older crowd. If you’re not looking for anything fancy this is the spot for you. I consider myself an open person that loves to try anything new. I can enjoy myself at a rundown bar or a fancy restaurant. Affordable drinks, friendly crowd that will show you support even after your horrible set at karaōke, and scenic view of the Channel Islands Marina. Plenty of parking with lots of lighting so your safety is not a concern.
Came here for the Friday night karaōke. The singing begins at 9pm. I would recommend submitting your song request as early as possible as lots of people sing. From the time we submitted our request, we didn’t get called until about 30 min later. There is a book you can reference but the dj can look up any song of your choice for you. Most of the crowd sang country/​oldies, so don’t stick out like a sore thumb and start singing some rap/​hip hop unless your completely wasted because chances are no one will be into it. I suggest arriving no later than 9pm on a Friday night.
Setting is somewhat small and can easily get full leaving you to sit outside in the cold. Luckily there is heaters and large windows for you to still be able to see all the action inside. Had the pleasure to meet Sandra and her father Steve that are regulars. They shared that this was their go to father/​daughter hang out spot!

Kind of a hometown bar. We were there in the evening, so not much of a view of harbor but I imagine during the day it would be great. Kind of busy when we were there. Only the bartender working the entire floor and bar. She was great! We just had a burger but obviously it was a handmade patty, juicy & delicious. We wanted to split the meal and they brought it played for each of us. Just can’t speakly highly enough of the server/​bartender, Audrey. Don’t expect a fancy place, but reasonably priced and appeared to have a lot of beers on tap.

We were having a great time. Sitting outside enjoying a few beers. We are locals and have been here quite a few times. The service isn’t all that great as we sometimes have to go ask for more drinks but today we experienced something that was offense to us that we we just wanted to leave immediately. A waitress out of the blue walking by us said our smoking was horrible and offensive. I would have been fine with this if she just said hey, we don’t allow vaping and would appreciate if you would stop but that’s not what she said. The lookout needs to be more clear on their rules on this issue and their staff needs to be more professional on the way they tell their customers that this is their rule. We will probably not visit this establishment anymore if this is the way they conduct business. Be professional!

I’ll start with the bad and move to the good. I’ve come here several times in the past year, sometimes with friends, sometimes with my husband. I never really wanted to Unilocal places for a long time, primarily because I think it’s unfair to businesses that are trying and maybe that reviewer catches them on a bad day. But after several visits, I can say that the LookOut has a steady flow of bad days. If it were not for the food (which I’ll get to) I would not bother. I think service is everything, and it’s revealing when I’ve waited on more than two occasions for a drink or to place my food order, because the bartender was in the bathroom. Sometimes three times while I’m there, when even the regulars I’ve talked to notice. I mention this because my day job is in the mental health industry, so I’m wondering why two or more servers are constantly absent versus being front and center. The view is incredible, the clientele has been very nice to me and my husband, and as of this past weekend they don’t allow patio smoking, which is even better. The chowder is as good as they say, and the burgers are mouth watering. The beers are my husband’s realm but he says it’s the best selection around and decently priced. For that matter the food is too. Nothing about this spot is unreasonable except for the inconsistent service. One gentleman (manager?) was very helpful and attentive during the day, and the girls on one particular friday night seemed unfazed by the busy karoake crowd. But I may stop lunches here, since I noticed the cooks are also the bussers? Maybe it’s slow enough to combine them but it left a weird feeling with me. I wouldn’t discourage this place, if only for the view and the food. Just don’t expect much in the service department.

Good bar food, nice view of the harbor. Thanks. ….
Goooood

Always a great local spot. Mostly 20 – 40, chill friends. Great spot to grab a drink late night and kick it in a low key atmosphere. The bartender Al is always amazing to us and welcomes us like we’ve been coming there for years!
Only one pool table though so you might have to wait if that’s your thing.

Pros: the food was amazing.
–dog-​friendly
–Good sound, and could see TVs through windows from outside
Cons: Terrible service (aside from a waitress who helped us out WHO WASN’T EVEN WORKING at the time, just helping out)
–Trashy, dirty.
–Outdoor heaters not operational.
–Called in and the guy hung up on me
–Expensive.
Side note: the place was not busy at all, but they made it seem like it was Beatlemania

Love the atmosphere and ppl here! The bacon cheeseburger is a must and on a nice summer day, sitting outside is the best seat in the house!

Went here w my wife on Monday after Christmas. The place was pretty empty but we ventured in, they have a great view of the harbor, the bar is old but the people make you feel at home. We ordered a couple of beers, which were cold, and ordered a tuna sand w a salad. BAM! Like the local said, the food is pretty good here. And he was right. Not a whole bunch of tuna but very tasty, and a great salad along with nice folks. I’ll be back!

This place deserves at least four stars. I mean, yeah, okay: this place isn’t exactly elegant, and it’s not exactly a clean-​cut restaurant. But the food is cooked well, the clam chowder is amazing, and the fries are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
And also, Jeanne makes sure you feel 100% at home at the Lookout. Everything is unpretentious, tasty, greasy, and great.
The Lookout is definitely worth a second visit if I ever come down here again!

My wife and I had a great dinner here, wonderfully served by Caitlin. I had the delicate and perfectly cooked sea bass, she the burger and fries. We left happy and will be returning soon.

This is a fun, casual bar/​dining experience with an awesome harbor view! Trivia on Tuesday nights is a hoot and bartender Audrey is always on point with her service! Try the vegan… yes, I said vegan… potato skins… SO GOOD! They’re not on the menu, but ask for them, they’re happy to make them for you!
Now go, get out there and have some fun at The Lookout!

Every time I go here it’s a good time. The bartenders are fun if you give them respect. Great place to relax and forget about your problems.

This place used to be a great hangout. It’s just ok now.
Food doesn’t seem to be as fresh, and the ambiance is just so, so.
We went on Super Bowl and the crowd was a bit ruff and the staff/​cooks looked dirty.
Also, sitting outside to admire the view of the marina and have a cocktail with your sweetheart is out due to it being the «Smoking section. Cough, coughed our way to another place.

Service was great. View was great. Place needs to be on bar rescue. It smells, food is not good and it just feels like a dive. It has great potential but is pretty lousy

I’ve been visiting the Lookout for several years. With the previous ownership and the current one.
The location is great. Awesome view of the harbor and very casual. Mostly locals there, and a lot of «boaties» (people who live on boats in the harbor). I would say it’s a dive bar with a great view.
The food was better with the previous owner. She was Irish and had some cool things on the menu, like bangers and mash and good fish n chips. Tonight I ordered fried zucchini and hot wings. They were ok, but WAY too much salt. Serious advice from a culinary professional… Take it easy on the salt… I’ll be retaining water for the next few days. I NEVER leave wings on the plate, but tonight… I couldn’t eat anymore salt.
UPDATE: Got a private message from the owner, here on Unilocal,after reading my review. He expressed concern about my satisfaction and left me a phone number to call him. So I did.
I have to say that this level of customer service is commendable. He asked me about my opinion and since we are both «foodies» we exchanged ideas and he assured me that he was very hands-​on in the kitchen and will continue to make improvements.
As he was describing how he makes his burgers… my mouth was watering and now I HAVE to try one. His goal is to have (among other things) the BEST Burger in town. With his passion for food and attitude, I’m sure he will have it. Can’t wait.
My hats off to you, sir!
I changed my review to 4 STARS for excellent customer service!

This is a beautiful location with a patio over looking the harbor. the downside is: it is usually being used by smokers. That is a plus if you smoke, there is a lovely place to enjoy a fag. They usually have very good cold beer on draft.
This is a bar, its a nice clean airy bar with plenty of parking… but it’s a bar. if you come here for the food or the service you may be disappointed. They have things to eat that are not bad. They have happy hour specials on drinks and food.
I get here about once a year and its always the same story: most of the patrons are pretty buzzed and the bartenders are a little edgy. That being said, we always have fun and often have to make arrangements to get home safely. Its just that kind of place.

There’s so much to love about the Lookout, great view, great beer selection, great food & fun atmosphere.
On a previous visit, I requested something that wasn’t on the menu and they were happy to oblige. Right now, enjoying the Superbowl on many TV screens.

BAR WITH A VIEW
(3 stars)
Cruising the 101 coast in SoCal… The underrated beach cities.
–FOOD, ok
–PRICES, ok
–SERVICE, ok
–AMBIANCE, ok
Bar with a deck and a view. I heard the HH is great but I was here for lunch. I was hoping for a wow but got an meh, ok. The people here are locals, likely regulars.
HEFER STATS.
SHRIMP COCKTAIL — the presentation was pretty. However… Why did the shrimp have a strong «shrimpy» smell. I’m not sure if the shrimps suppose to smell that way.
COCKTAIL — I asked for a fruity cocktail and got vodka + chambord. Well, it was STRONG. Lol. Not sure if it tasted good but it did the job.
Until the next review…